Steel wire ropes are widely used in traction elevators and are primarily classified into two general classes. The first is 8×19 class, which contains eight metal strands wound around a fiber core, and the second is 6×19 class, which contains six metal strands wound around a fiber core. A steel wire rope during its operation in a traction elevator is bent under tension over sheaves and coiled onto drums. Thus steel wire ropes are subjected to multiple stresses such as flexure, torsion, tension and compression; thus resulting in wear on itself and on the sheaves over which it is bent. In addition, a steel wire rope for traction elevators is also required to comply with safety requirements and provide an adequate service life. Steel wires for elevators have nominal tensile strength of 1370, 1570 and 1770 N/mm2. Typically, outer wires are lower tensile strength than inner wires, therefore pulley abrasion is reduced. Higher strength levels such as 1960 N/mm2 though desirable, cannot be used due to high levels of contact pressure, a higher degree of groove wear or the effect of rope impression occurs. One solution to this problem is to use hardened sheaves. Such a solution will involve added costs and labor of replacing both the sheaves and the rope. Another problem with a typical elevator rope with a fibre core is that said rope cannot achieve low stretch as compared to ropes produced with steel core.
EP-A1-1 213 250 discloses a rope which comprises a fibrous core element surrounded by a plurality of helically twisted steel strands. The fibres of the fibrous core element are natural fibres. The tensile strength of the wires of the strands may be more than 3000 N/mm2. The rope is to be used in an elevator drive system.